“Welcome to Hyunam Bookstore” by Hwang Bo-Reum, the aroma of books – Libération

A bestseller two years ago, the Korean author’s first novel, which takes place almost exclusively in a Seoul book café, is an ode to independent bookstores and good coffee.

For the first few months after opening her bookstore, Yeong-Ju would sit at her desk by the cash register, her face pale and her eyes watering. Slowly, she brightened up, the place grew in appeal, and her book reviews on Instagram or palm-sized notes tucked between the pages brought in customers from far beyond the neighborhood. And then she hired Min-jun, a quiet, reserved young man who is a fabulous barista. Welcome to Hyunam Bookstore takes place in a “book café”, a trendy place in South Korea where you can enjoy a drink while reading quietly. “Reading books and making coffee have a lot of similarities.” Most of the novel takes place in the shop, in a neighborhood of Seoul, apart from a few dinners with girlfriends at Yeong-Ju’s or in her friend Jimi’s coffee roastery. Hwang Bo-Reum’s first novel, a bestseller in her country in 2022, was voted book of the year by Korean booksellers. It is an ode to the independent bookstore and good coffee.

Que lit Yeong-Ju ?

Since childhood, fictions, which allow him “to abstract oneself from one’s emotions to immerse oneself in those of others”. Lately, the theme of his readings has been about departure. In his hands, sad animal by Monika Maron, the story of a woman who leaves her family for love. The portrait of the bookseller, hypersensitive and modest, unfolds subtly throughout the novel: she has broken with a past that